Chelsea fans are beginning to run out of patience with Jorginho as the Italy international has still not made an assist since joining the Blues over the summer.

Jorginho has lined out in Chelsea colours 23 times this season since his £50m move from Napoli in the summer but his goal from the penalty spot on his Premier League debut against Huddersfield back in August remains his only goal contribution.

Having been billed as the man who could take the Chelsea midfield to the next level and allow the Blues to emulate Sarri's famed Napoli team, the 27-year-old has not quite lived up to the expectations.

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But a quick look at his stats from last season show that Jorginho's game has not changed massively since he arrived in London, as he recorded just four assists and scored twice in 33 Serie A appearances.

The season before isn't any better as the Brazilian-born midfielder scored no goals and added just three assists in 27 league outings.

(Image: CARLO HERMANN/AFP/Getty Images)

So what exactly does he do for Chelsea? And why is he seen as such a key figure in implementing 'Sarri-ball'?

Let's take a look at what Sarri has said about Jorginho since the pair arrived at Stamford Bridge.

"We need Jorginho more than City"

Ahead of Chelsea's first game of the season in the Community Shield against Manchester City, Sarri spoke briefly about Jorginho's importance to his team and joked about the midfielder rejecting a move to City in favour of Chelsea.

"Pep has great midfielders, central midfielders. Fernandinho is a wonderful player. So we needed Jorginho more than them. Jorginho is one of the steps to try to reduce the gap. He's only the first. But the rest is to work."

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Jorginho the leader

The midfielder's passing ability is not the only thing valued by Sarri, with the Italian crediting Jorginho's leadership skills during an interview with Sky Sports back in October.

"Jorginho is really suitable to the way I like to play," he explained. "He is a player that has many good sides to him. He wants to work hard and he's very fast in moving the ball, which is important for us, although there is also Cesc Fabregas, who has the same potential as Jorginho.

"But he also has a big personality, although it may not seem like it from the outside. He's an example on the pitch and outside the pitch and he can be an example for his team-mates."

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The Fabregas issue

Sarri has repeatedly made clear that Cesc Fabregas is the only player in the Chelsea squad he trusts to fulfil Jorginho's role when the Italy international is unavailable.But with Fabregas on his way to Monaco, that only increases the Blues' reliance on Jorginho in the centre of the park.

Back in November, Sarri even went as far as to start Jorginho in a Europa League clash with BATE Borisov because Fabregas was unavailable.

"Jorginho will play only because Cesc Fabregas yesterday had fever so he wasn't available for this match," Sarri told BT Sport . "So we need Jorginho in order to not change our way of football."

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Jorginho vs Kante debate

After Chelsea were handed their first Premier League defeat of the Sarri reign by Spurs in November, the Chelsea boss was forced to field questions about his midfield lynchpin.

Sarri admitted he does not trust N'Golo Kante to fulfill the Jorginho role and believes the Frenchman could learn from the Italian international.

"I want to play a central midfielder who is a very technical player, so for me, the central midfielder is Jorginho or Fabregas. I don't want Kante in this position," Sarri said.

N'Golo Kante with Jorginho (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)

"Kante, in the last match, wanted to solve the match after the first 15 minutes, but in the wrong way. He lost the position, he attacked too much. This one is not one of the best characteristics of Kante, but it was only in reaction to the difficulties.

"Maybe it's only a question of time, but Kante has to stay near to Jorginho, especially when the ball is on the other side. When the ball is on the left he has to stay very close to Jorginho."

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Jorginho's defensive shortcomings

In December, Sarri revealed that he relies on Kante to cover up for Joringho's defensive failings, saying : "With the ball on the other side, he has to stay very close to Jorginho. Otherwise it's a big problem for us.

"Jorginho can cut out passes from the opposition, but he's not very good in the defensive phase in open spaces. So I think we need Kante very close to him."

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Chelsea's transfer plans for January

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